Asterism
by CrackedCrow
Summary: [as-tuh-riz-uh m] noun Astronomy - a group of stars, - a constellation. Space Obsession/Full Ghost AU
1. Polaris

Jack raised his arms dramatically, a plug in each hand, and connected them with a flourish.

The cord sparked. The portal did not turn on.

Jack pouted.

"I don't understand," Maddie said wearily. "We've gone over the blueprints four times, checked each wire and circuit, even changed the plugs. Why isn't it working?"

Jack sighed. "Maybe we should start from scratch."

Maddie's eyes widened behind her ruby safety goggles. "Jack, it took us two years to build this!"

"I know, Mads, I know, but what else can we do?" Jack shook his head. "First the proto-portal, now this. Maybe it's just not meant to be."

Maddie lowered her hood. She ran a shaky hand through her hair, and huffed. "Maybe if we got in contact with Vlad again..."

Jack lit up. "That's a great idea! Let's go visit him! I'm sure he'd love to see us again!"

"What? Jack, no, that's not what I meant-"

Jack wasn't listening. He was already rambling in his excitement to meet his old friend again. Maddie sighed again and left the lab to pack a bag. After Jack calmed down, he did the same, and they loaded the RV.

As Jack started up the engine, Maddie darted back inside. She wrote a quick note for her children, letting them know that they'd be gone for a few days and the stay out of the lab, and placed it in the center of the dining table. Hopefully her daughter would notice it.

They drove away, leaving Illinois for Wisconsin. Jack chattered happily the whole way, but Maddie couldn't help but feel nervous. Her kids were old enough to take care of themselves, but she couldn't help the awful feeling that something was going to happen.

* * *

Clockwork watched the scene unfolding on his viewing screen. A young boy led his two friends into a basement, covered floor to ceiling in chrome and sporting work tables with half finished inventions and vials of chemicals. The three children crept down the stairs, hyper-alert for any adults, but the adults were long gone.

The shortest boy led his friends to a large hole built into one wall. They stared in awe. The girl took a few pictures, then harassed the boy into stepping inside the hole. He went nervously, and stood still in the very center as the girl took another picture. He crept out cautiously and the other boy cracked a joke. The three friends laughed and walked back upstairs, unaware that anything different was supposed to have happened.

Clockwork turned around to stare at the door. Any moment now...

"Clockwork!" A green, amorphous cyclops barged into the clocktower. "What have you done!?"

"I have done nothing."

"Exactly!" cried the Observant. "You have allowed the timeline to branch off of it's predestined path! The portal was supposed to open! Phantom was supposed to have been created! Your negligence has ruined the timeline!"

"On the contrary," Clockwork grinned, "I have created a new one."

* * *

Danny was running from the moment he left the school building. He wasn't alone, of course. Sam and Tucker ran behind him, creating a barrier between he and Dash. But none of the three were very athletic people, and the jock was quickly catching up. Dash was yelling at Danny, and his friends were cheering him on from slightly further down the sidewalk.

Suddenly Sam and Tucker dropped back, attempting to wrestle the blond away. Dash simply pushed onward, barely pausing at Sam's steel-toed kicks.

Danny continued to run, approaching the intersection. He glanced back as Dash overpowered his friends. Danny's feet touched the pavement, but he didn't look, watching as Dash ran towards him with all the speed of a quarter-back.

Danny didn't even remember why Dash was mad at him today, but that didn't matter. He pushed his legs farther, reaching the center of the road.

A car blared it's horn and Danny snapped his neck to the side, noticing the car only inches away.

The bumper slammed into his hips, and Danny flew headlong into the intersection.

Sam and Tucker screamed.

A second car screeched to a halt a few seconds too late, hitting Danny from the opposite side and knocking his head onto the pavement.

All traffic stopped.

People were shouting. Someone was crying. Blood dripped in Danny's eyes, blinding him on one side. He couldn't feel his body. Distantly, he was thankful.

Someone was kneeling next to him, brushing hair out of his face, pressing cold fingers against his neck. Someone else grabbed his wrist, gently rolling him to his back, despite a third person saying not to move him.

Danny stared dazedly at the sky. It was blue. Puffy white clouds drifted slowly. Danny wished it were night. Suddenly, the sky turned black, little pinpricks of lights dancing in front of his eyes into constellations. His nerves calmed.

Danny looked down. He was standing. The pavement was wet. He looked up. Sam and Tucker were kneeling on the ground, sobbing. A motionless lump lay between them.

People were yelling and shifting like a school of fish, but Danny wasn't interested in them. He walked closer, not finding it odd when he stepped straight through the crowd, and leaned over his friends, wondering what had made them so sad, if a dog had been hit by a car, maybe.

He looked at the twisted body. _Oh, _Danny thought. _That's me._

He glanced down at his hands. They were a pale, pastel green. His feet weren't touching the ground. _Oh,_ he realized.

Danny glanced back at the sidewalk. Dash stood frozen, sickly pale, trembling at the knees, staring at the mess. The rest of the A-List hovered around him, trying to move him away without looking at the scene in the street. Dash didn't acknowledge them.

Finally, Danny felt a flicker of emotion. To his surprise, it was pity. Dash certainly hadn't meant for this to happen, Danny knew without a doubt, but it would haunt him forever. Hopefully, though, Danny thought, it might make him a better person.

As long as he left Sam and Tucker alone, Danny would forgive him.

As if a switch had been flipped, a flash of purple tore through the air. It spiraled wider, looking not unlike an elliptical galaxy. Danny felt drawn to it, and knew that he was supposed to be on the other side of wherever this portal led. But it would be awhile before he came back, so he took a long look at Sam and Tucker, memorized her black hair and purple eyes, his red hat and nerdy glasses.

Then he smiled, and stepped through.

"Hello Daniel. I've been _dying_ to meet you."

* * *

**Hello! It's been a while. My other fics are still in progress, I'm just focusing on this one right now. It's going to be _long_, over 300 parts/chapters, but I've got each one planned out, and I'm moving through them rather fast.**

**Also, this story is being crossposted on Ao3, if you prefer that format. :)**

**Please enjoy!**


	2. Sirius A

**Jack and Maddie fix the ghost portal in hopes of reconnecting with their son. They accidentally release something else.**

* * *

Maddie twisted the last bolt on her side just as Jack finished his. Without a word, they switched sides to check each other's work. They hadn't talked much in the past few weeks.

They had been less than a mile from home when they got the phone call. They had gone straight to the hospital, but it had been too late. Danny had been gone before the ambulance reached him.

Since then, they had been in the lab almost non-stop, only leaving for food and sleep, and not very often. The couple had agreed without a word to finish what they had started, but their motivation had changed. Now they just wanted to see their son again.

Jazz had simply stared at them when she had found them lost in their work. Maddie had tried to explain, but their daughter _looked_ at them, as if they were horrible people to be so motivated in the face of such a tragedy. Maddie had given up, and Jazz had gone back upstairs. They hadn't seen each other since.

Now though, three weeks after the death of their son, the Fenton parents had completed their project, with improved blueprints courtesy of their college friend. Vlad had been almost eager to help them. Maddie had thought it odd at the time, his level of enthusiasm, but now she didn't care.

With their final check completed, Maddie nodded to Jack, who plugged in the portal.

And it _turned on._

They froze in shock. Over twenty years, and finally, when they needed it most, it worked.

Maddie and Jack stared at each other, tears in their eyes at the thought of finally getting it _right_. They stood there for a few minutes, in awe of their invention.

Then they were a blur of action. They dashed around the lab, collecting cameras, drones, and probes to send into the portal, get some idea of what they were getting into.

Jack was just sending the first camera in, feeding the cord through the portal inch by inch, when the ground trembled. The work tables shook, and tools and inventions scattered across the ground.

The glowing, swirling green of the portal was replaced by a large roaring shadow that solidified into a large roaring shape.

Jack and Maddie reached for their guns just a second too late. The creature swatted them to the side. Maddie scurried under a table, trying to reach her gun while Jack scrambled to his feet. He dashed to block the stairway, determined to protect their remaining child.

Jack stared down the creature, finally getting a good look at it. It was a wide green man, with a giant eyeball in place of a head. He wore a white apron and carried a butcher's knife.

Jack noticed the blade just in time to dart out of it's path. The creature - ghost, what else could it be - decided to ignore its lost prey on favor of flying up the stairs. Jack and Maddie, now with her gun, chased it into the kitchen, only to find the room empty. They cautiously looked around, but there was no sign of the ghost.

Adrenaline draining, Maddie lowered her gun. She shared a look with Jack, and together they trudged back downstairs. There they spent the next two days feeding cameras and drones through the portal.

It was only when another ghost fought it's way into the mortal realm that they realized the blueprints hadn't included an off switch.


	3. Sirius B

**Clockwork claims guardianship of Danny.**

* * *

Clockwork stared at the ghost boy. He had one pitch back eye with a pupil like a star, and one pale blue eye. His hair was streaked with black and white, and his face was covered in dark green freckles. The ghost boy stared back, assessing him as well. Clockwork inwardly smirked. It was an amusing standoff.

Finally, Danny cracked. "Who are you?"

"I am The Master of Time. I go by many names, but you may call me Clockwork."

Danny's lips twitched. "Okaaay. Where are we?"

Clockwork smiled. "We are in my clocktower. _Your_ tower is still manifesting."

Danny blinked. "What do you mean _my_ tower?"

"Each ghost has a lair, a home, a place to spend their afterlife. Yours is a tower, like mine, and connected to one of my turrets. You will be able to travel between them anytime you wish."

"But..." Danny frowned. "You said you're the Master of Time, so you're important, right? So why is my tower connected to yours?"

Clockwork hummed. How much should he tell him? He scanned a few timelines and decided to keep his mouth shut about the Big Thing. "It will take many years, but you, Daniel, will grow to be a very important ghost. I am to help you get there. Think of me as your... guardian, or mentor."

Danny thought it over. He grinned "Alright then. What's first, _Master?_"

Clockwork chuckled, despite having known the snark was coming. "First, you will be acquainted with your tower. I do believe it's finished forming."

"How do you know?"

Clockwork led his charge to the corridor where the two towers connected. Soon, there would be a courtyard just out that window, right between the buildings. "I know a lot of things, Daniel. Like your name without you telling me."

Danny froze. "Damn... That's creepy."

Clockwork laughed. He could see every possible future, and had, in order to pick this one. But he had never before thought of how entertaining these upcoming years would be.


	4. Arcturus

**In a town overrun by ghosts, Jazz searches for her brother.**

* * *

Jazz ducked into another alley. It had only been a few days since the invasion, but she had already adapted to sneaking around the ghosts.

Ghosts. She never would have thought that her parents were right. In fact, she had prided herself on disagreeing with them. But now, given the circumstances, she couldn't be more glad that they had finally proved themselves.

She had been so mad when they had immediately gone back to work, without even thinking of Danny's funeral. She had had to plan it. At _sixteen years old_, she had had to plan her own brothers funeral, because her _parents_ were _working_. She had been furious.

But then, the day before the ceremony, something happened.

A ghost escaped into Amity Park.

Jazz hadn't believed her eyes. Neither had anyone else, apparently, until the creature began wrecking the town. Then it was chaos.

By the end of the day, everyone was either hiding in their homes, or out on the streets looking for passed loved ones. Jazz was one of the latter. She didn't know where her parents were. Likely trying to gather up all the ghosts they had set free, or trying to close down the portal. Jazz didn't care. She wanted - _needed_ to find Danny. At this point she wouldn't even care if he were one of the ghosts purposely causing havoc.

She spent hours dodging the ghosts' attention, slowly making her way downtown. She hadn't spotted anyone who looked even remotely like her brother.

Jazz stopped when she reached the school. The community had set up a small shrine to Danny a few days after the accident, and no one had the heart to take it down, even though the flowers had all died, and the pictures were tearing at the edges. Jazz kissed her fingers and pressed them to the central photo, the only one in a frame, and thus, the only one still intact. It had become a habit over the past few weeks.

She was interrupted by a loud crash around the back of the building. Cautiously, she crept around the corner. The ghost digging in the dumpster was far too round to be Danny. Jazz sighed.

That was a mistake.

The ghost whipped around. He was a short blue man in overalls and a hat, and a goofy expression. He stared at Jazz in bewilderment, before reaching back into the dumpster and pulling out a crumpled cardboard box. He waved a hand and the box reshaped itself.

The ghost triumphantly gestured in Jazz's direction, and shouted "I am the Box Ghost!" Then he, and the box, were gone.

Jazz sat on the dirty, garbage covered concrete for a few moments more, then she began to giggle. The giggle gave way to a snort, and then fully hysterical laughter. She hadn't smiled since the accident, and once she started she couldn't stop.

Soon, the laughter faded to sobs, and she curled up beside the dumpster, pointedly ignore the strange looks she got from wandering ghosts. _If Danny were here,_ she thought, _he'd make some snarky pun about boxes, and she'd groan, and everything would be normal._

She missed Danny.

Eventually, her tears tapered off. Jazz stood, brushed herself off, and continued her search.


	5. Vega

**Sam and Tucker resort to occultism.**

* * *

"Hey, uh Sam? I really shouldn't be surprised, but uh, where exactly did you get a creepy antique Ouija Board?"

"It's my Grandma's," Sam explained as she set the board gently on the ground. "She was really into occult stuff back in her early twenties." She dug the planchette out of her pocket. "She gave it to me, after..."

"Oh." Tucker's face fell, like it did every time someone mentioned The Accident. "So... Does it work?"

Sam snorted.

"Oh, come on, Sam!" Tucker rolled his eyes. "I've never done this before, I don't know how it works! I just know my mom told me to stay away from them."

Sam raised an eyebrow. She knew how much he respected his mom's advice. "And you're willing to do this anyway?"

"For Danny, anything." Tucker's eyes were like steel.

Sam stared at him for a moment, trying to gauge if he was serious. Despite her reputation, she wouldn't force him to do something he wasn't comfortable with. Push him, yeah, but not force. Finally, she nodded and nudged the planchette to the center of the board. "Put your fingers on it, like I'm doing."

Tucker hesitated only a second before he did so. "What are the crystals for?" He nodded to the multicolored gems placed in a circle around them.

"They're for protection, purification, amplification, that sort of thing."

Tucker's eyes widened. "Protection? From what?" He moved to take his hands off the planchette.

"Uh uh," Sam scowled. "You've already touched it, you're in for the long haul." It wasn't quite true, as they hadn't started yet, but he didn't need to know that. Tucker whined, but settled back down. "They're just to make sure we make contact with Danny, and not someone else." Sam explained.

"Oh. That sounds... reasonable."

Sam huffed. "Okay. Let's start." Despite her declaration, neither of them acted.

After a moment, Tucker asked, "Sam? Are we supposed to be doing something?"

Sam sighed. "I can't do this Tucker," she said quietly.

"What do you mean? I thought this was the whole point of coming over."

"Have you seen those things out there? There's no way Danny turned into one of them. He was too gentle. Wherever he is, he probably won't appreciate us disturbing him." She took her hands off the planchette.

Tucker copied her, looking slightly relieved. "So, you don't think Danny's a ghost?"

Sam opened her mouth to confirm in the negative, when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

The planchette was moving.

She and Tucker watched in something akin to fear as the little piece of wood slid across the board to 'YES'.

"It's not supposed to do that." Sam whispered.

Tucker whimpered.

"Who are you?" Sam asked, sounding more confident than she felt.

D-A-N-N-Y.

"Tell us something only you would know."

The planchette pointed towards Tucker, who was getting paler by the second, then spelled out, L-U-N-C-H-B-O-X.

Tucker winced, sent a nervous glance to Sam, and nodded. "That's Danny."

"What?" Sam frowned. "What does a lunchbox have to do with anything?"

"You don't want to know." If possible, Tucker seemed more nervous now than when the planchette had started moving.

Sam narrowed her eyes in suspicion. She'd find out eventually. Nobody could keep secrets from her.

An echo of familiar laughter bounced around the basement. Sam felt herself tear up at the sound of a voice she'd thought she'd never hear again.

"So you are a ghost? But you're not like the others. There's no way."

"Why can't we see you?" Tucker asked.

W-E-A-K.

Sam frowned. "If you're too weak to be visible, how come you can move the planchette?"

The planchette spun off the board, pointing towards the amplifying crystal.

"Oh." Sam supposed that made sense.

Things were quiet for a moment.

Then Tucker sniffled, "I miss you, man."

At Tucker's admission, Sam couldn't hold back her own tears any longer. They streamed down her cheeks, and she could have sworn she felt a cold finger wipe them away. Sam grabbed ahold of her living friend, and they huddled together, sobbing quietly.

They were almost certain they felt a pair of ghostly arms wrap around them.


	6. Castor

**Danny, too weak to manifest himself, invisibly accompanies his friends to school.**

* * *

It had taken hours to convince him, but eventually Danny caved. He had spent all weekend with Sam and Tucker, and the stars had powered him up enough to be heard on the living plane, so the argument wasn't as difficult as it could have been, but Tucker still hadn't been expecting such a fight.

Still, though, he and Sam eventually won, and on Monday morning Danny floated invisibly behind them into Casper High. They only knew he was there because of the slight chill that had steadily grown stronger over the past few days.

The chill had stopped moving with them when they passed the now-trashed memorial, so Sam and Tucker waited with him.

To anyone else that passed them, of the small handful of people who actually braved the outdoors nowadays, they simply looked like they were mourning. And on Friday, they would have been.

Now, it seemed Danny was the one grieving. Tucker wondered if he had fully dealt with his own death.

Probably not, if the living were still dealing with it too.

Eventually, the trio made their way indoors. The hallways were nearly empty. Only a small collection of teachers and a only slightly larger amount of students had continued with schooling after the initial invasion. Now, there were only about five students per teacher.

Unsurprisingly, the students who didn't skip were mostly those labeled as 'nerds'. There was Mikey, and Lester, and Nathan. Jazz was there, of course, though everyone treated her like glass.

To everyone's surprise though, about half of the A-List had come back to school too. They seemed to hover around Dash, constantly watching him as if they expected him to breakdown any moment. Kwan kept one hand on Dash's shoulder, and Paulina, Star, and Valerie whispered to each other, glancing at the jocks every few moments.

"What's up with them?" Danny whispered in Tucker's ear.

Tucker forced himself not to flinch. "They've been like that ever since... y'know. Dash hasn't even so much as snapped at anyone. In fact, I don't think I've heard him say a word."

Sam scoffed. Her eyes burned angrily. "Serves him right. He's to blame for all of this."

The air suddenly turned bitingly cold. "I don't blame him for my death, and neither should you," Danny hissed.

After a very uncomfortable moment, in which Sam and Tucker stared at each other with wide eyes, the air faded back to its normal chill.

"Sorry," Danny whispered.

Sam stuttered, "It - it's okay, Danny. I'll try to get over my grudge."

Tucker nodded nervously.

Luckily, the bell rang before anyone could continue the conversation. Sam and Tucker dashed to their first period class, Danny trailing behind almost lazily.

After all the students were inside the classroom, Mr. Lancer shut and locked the door, as had become custom in hopes of preventing a ghost from entering. Tucker almost snorted at the thought.

"Right," Mr. Lancer said, sending Sam and Tucker the same concerned look he had given them each day since the accident. "Today we're going to be reading some articles. I want you to compare the writing style to your own essays, particularly the ones you turned in last class." He counted the students. "Work in pairs."

Sam and Tucker immediately turned to each other, leaving a space between them for Danny, who they could feel hovering over their shoulders. They chatted quietly as Lancer passed out the papers.

"You know," Danny whispered, "the best part of being dead is that I don't have to write essays anymore."

"Whatever, Danny. Besides, we all know Tuck just copied his off the internet."

"Guilty as charged."

Danny laughed quietly, just as Lancer reached their desks. He paused, having heard the echoey sound, before shaking his head and slapping a pair of papers onto the desktop. He walked away, mumbling under his breath.

Tucker, who had been holding his breath, sighed. "You gotta be more careful, man. People are paranoid nowadays."

"Sorry," Danny said again.

"Don't apologise," Sam said, "just be careful. We've already lost you once. I don't think I could handle it if it was permanent."

Danny squeezed their shoulders, and Sam and Tucker got to work. Danny occasionally pitched in with his opinion, and the three slowly worked their way through the assignment.

None of them noticed Mr. Lancer's eyes on them.


	7. Pollux

**Dash goes to therapy.**

* * *

"Well, Mr. Baxter, would you like to get started?"

Dash shrugged. "Not particularly." He _really_ didn't want to be here, but Kwan had insisted.

"Come on, man, just once," he'd plead. "You're scaring us."

So now Dash was here, at the Amity Mental Health Center, talking to a stranger about things he didn't want to talk about.

"Alright," the shrink said. "Let's start with _why_ you're here, then."

Dash hesitated. He hadn't talked to anyone about what had been going through his head. Surely it couldn't hurt though. This lady was trained to help, right? "I... recently saw someone die. And it was my fault."

The lady wrote something on her notepad. "How was it your fault?"

"I was chasing him. I don't remember why, just that I was really angry, and... he ran into the road. And he got hit by a car. And then another car. And I just stood there, I didn't try to help or anything."

"I see." The lady hummed and wrote something else down. It was quiet for a long, uncomfortable moment.

"What's your name?" Dash asked, unsure what else to say.

"Samantha."

Dash felt his heart skip a beat, suddenly visualizing furious purple eyes. He had been so caught up in his own misery, he hadn't thought of how Danny's friends must feel. It had been _weeks_, and this was the first time he was thinking of them?

"Are you okay?"

Dash looked up. Samantha was staring at him. He realized that he was hyperventilating, and forced himself to breathe slower. "I just... One of his best friends' name is Sam."

"Have you spoken to her?"

"No, she hates me. Probably even more, now."

Samantha hummed again. "I'll be honest with you, Dash. It's not going to be easy going forward. She's probably not the only person who's upset with you. Do you have a support system?"

"What?"

"People to talk to, who will stand by you while you're struggling."

"Oh." Dash frowned, thinking of how his parents weren't talking to him. "Yeah, my friends have been helping me. They're actually the reason I'm here."

"Good," Samantha smiled. "How about family?"

Dash winced. He'd hoped she would overlook that. "My little sister doesn't even know what happened."

Samantha frowned and scribbled something on her notepad. "What about your parents?"

Dash hesitated. He looked down at the floor, then up at the ceiling. They were the same ugly beige. Finally, he looked Samantha in the eye and said, "They say it's my fault too."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Samantha's brow furrowed even deeper. "They said that?"

"Yeah," Dash said quietly.

Samantha scowled and wrote a long note on her pad. "Alright Dash, here's what we're going to do. You have a small support system, no familial support, and a very serious situation. So, we're going to focus on your friends, and work on your parents. Let's start with your friends. How can they help you?"

Dash thought. "I guess... they pushed me to come here. I know they're worried about me."

"Good, so they're already working to help you. What else have they been doing?"

"They've been talking to me, when no one else in school will. They spend as much time with me as they can, and they don't care if I don't talk. When they can't be there, they check in with me over the phone. I've told them they don't have to, but they do anyway."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, not at all!" Dash shook his head. "I actually... really appreciate it. It's nice to know they're looking out for me."

Samantha smiled. "Good. Have you talked them about how you're feeling?"

"Um. No. I don't... want them to know? I know they'll just tell me it's not my fault and to forget about it, and I don't want to hear that."

Samantha nodded. "How about we make that your goal for this week? Try talking to them about it. You never know, they might surprise you. And either way, it'll make you feel better to get it off your chest."

Dash thought. It really couldn't hurt. Either he'd be right, or pleasantly surprised. And it would make his friends feel better to hear him talk again. "Yeah, alright. I can do that."

"Great!" Samantha smiled kindly. "In that case, you can tell me about it next week!"

"Wait... next week?"


	8. Regulus

**Jazz becomes suspicious.**

* * *

Something was up with Sam and Tucker.

Jazz hadn't talked to them since the funeral, but she had kept an eye out for them. Call it her psychologist brain, but she knew they didn't have anyone to talk to except each other, especially Sam, who refused to talk to her parents. She kept waiting for them to breakdown, and for a while, it seemed like they were headed there. Then they headed into school one Monday morning, completely fine.

Everything Jazz knew about grief and mourning - and she had read up on it a lot since the accident - said that something was wrong. They shouldn't be acting this way. They should still be going through the seven stages of grief, not completely past it.

Hell, Jazz was still struggling with acceptance. She had stopped searching for Danny, but she couldn't help the hope that he'd show up one day. If she, with all her knowledge and self-therapy, couldn't deal with the situation, how could two teens with no support system?

Yes, something was definitely wrong, and Jazz wanted to know what.

So she began to watch them even closer, and she noticed something very odd.

Sam and Tucker would frequently hold conversations in which they pretended there was a third person. It had been so confusing the first time she saw it, that she almost convinced herself there _was_ a third person, speaking quietly just out of sight.

But then she saw it again, in the lunchroom, where no one else was close enough to talk to them. Sam would say something, they would pause, then Tucker would reply to a completely different sentence. They would even randomly laugh at nothing.

Apparently Jazz wasn't the only one to notice. She saw Mr. Lancer watching them whenever he could, often frowning. Jazz assumed he was as confused as she was.

After a few days of witnessing this odd phenomena, Jazz realized what they were doing.

Sam and Tucker were talking to Danny. They didn't seem to care that he wasn't there. They simply pretended he was, and they seemed to be feeding each other's delusions.

It was all very concerning, but Jazz wasn't sure how to confront them about it. She turned to her books, pushing away her own grief in order to help them with theirs, and she began to make a plan.

Finally, after a week, she approached them in the cafeteria. Jazz slid onto the bench across from them, vaguely noting the chill in the air, and plopped a binder onto the table.

Sam and Tucker stared at her silently, confused.

Jazz took a deep breath. This would be her first time dealing with something like this, but by damn if she wasn't going to do it well. For Danny's sake, if nothing else.  
She opened her mouth -

And the door to the kitchen exploded outwards.


	9. Rigel

**Danny gets in his first ghost fight.**

* * *

Danny had fallen silent the moment he saw Jazz approach. His discomfort seemed to alert Sam and Tucker to the situation, and they stopped talking.

All three watched as Jazz welcomed herself to their table - long ago declared by the A-List to be the 'losers table' - and placed a full binder in front of them. Danny recognized it as one of her project binders. He forced himself not to groan. Jazz seemed to have decided to take on Sam and Tucker, to help them through the grieving process.

Jazz had just opened her mouth to begin her speech, when the door to the kitchen was blown off it's hinges.

It landed in the center of the room with a thud. Everyone in the cafeteria stared silently, shocked at the sudden intrusion. After a moment, people began to quietly, gingerly leave their seats. A few had managed to reach the hallway before the culprit burst into the room.

A large green woman in an apron and a hairnet hovered just past the doorway. She scowled and scanned the room. Danny remembered that she could see him just moments before her eyes landed on him. He froze in horror.

The lady's eyes narrowed angrily, and she floated forward.

Danny realized that, if she continued, she'd reach Sam, Tucker and Jazz before getting to him. He couldn't let that happen, couldn't let them be in danger.  
Danny phased through the table and flew forward to meet her, blocking her path from his friends.

She stopped, eyeing him oddly. After a moment of awkward silence, she loudly announced, "Who changed the menu?"

A few people stuttered, but no one was able to give a coherent answer.

The lady stared at Danny, implying the question was directed at him, anyway. Still hoping to get by undetected by the living, Danny quietly replied, "The school board had to. No one is willing to continue shipments of new food into a ghost infected town. The people are too scared. The school is using whatever food they have left."

The lady didn't seem to care for his answer. Her spiked up around her head, flames igniting around her. "That menu has been the same for _fifty years_!"

The students still in the cafeteria screamed, and those closest to the door ran for it. Sam, Tucker, and Jazz, however, were trapped between the ghosts and the wall. They huddled together, Jazz shoving the younger two behind her.

Danny saw all of this, and began to panic. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that the ghost wasn't going to calm down, and as far as Danny knew, no one could chase her off. He knew that his parents had been going around town, fighting ghosts who got too violent, but even if they knew what was going on, they wouldn't get to the school in time.

Food from the kitchen began to float into the cafeteria, surrounding the angry woman like projectile weapons.

Danny made his decision, and punched her in the face.

The woman reared back, not in injury, but in surprise. She blinked.

Danny floated back a bit, wary of her reaction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jazz discretely ushering his friends toward the hallway. Danny was relieved that they would be out of the way, but now the lady's attention was fully on him, and he had no clue what to do.

Finally, the woman rushed towards him, backing him into the wall. "How dare you!"

Danny slipped through an opening and phased through the floor. He found himself in the basement of the school. It was cold and empty, devoid of any furniture except for a pile of desks in the corner and a few half-empty boxes of canned food. He hid under one of the desks right as the ghost followed him through the floor.

"Where are you?" she hissed.

Danny hoped the glowing of his eyes wouldn't give him away. He hadn't learned how to turn invisible on command yet. He was incredibly thankful that he didn't need to breathe anymore.

The ghost eyed the room suspiciously. She spun slowly, looking in every corner, but from her place in the air she couldn't see below the desks.

After a handful of tense minutes, she shook her head angrily and left. Danny waited a few minutes more before leaving his hiding place. He hesitantly phased through the ceiling into the empty cafeteria. He wandered the school, looking for either the ghost or other students. He found neither.

Sighing, Danny floated out of the school and headed to Sam's house. Hopefully he'd find Tucker there, too.


	10. Canopus

**Clockwork introduces Danny to the council.**

* * *

"Hurry up, Daniel."

Danny rolled his eyes, floating leisurely towards his mentor. "You're the Master of Time, you know if we're going to be late or not."

"We will be," Clockwork passed Danny a folded black cloth. "If we don't leave in the next minute."

Danny shook out the cloth. It was a cloak, with a deep hood and tiny pinpricks of multicolored light on the inside, like stars. He tilted his head, appraising it. "What's this for?"

"It's a gift. You'll need to wear it, where we're going." Clockwork moved to the large front door.

Danny swung the cloak over his shoulders. "Where _are_ we going?"

"It's time you meet our employers."

Danny stopped.

"_Hurry_, Daniel."

"Right," Danny followed Clockwork out of the conjoined towers. "What do you mean, our employers? I don't have a job." He hesitated. "Do I?"

Clockwork smirked over his shoulder. "You will."

"Great."

Clockwork laughed.

They sped through the Ghost Zone, flying past floating islands and doors, lairs belonging to ghosts Danny hadn't met yet. Occasionally, Clockwork would point at one and tell him to memorize it, but he never said why. After about a half hour of flying, the duo reached a large castle-like building, completely free of any land. Danny stared at it.

"This, Daniel, is the home and workplace of the Observants. It is where the Council of Ancients hold meetings, and it is our destination."

Danny stared at Clockwork. He had learned in the two months of living with him that it was impossible to read his intentions. Finally, Danny asked, "Why are we here?"

Clockwork spun to face Danny, who flinched at the speed of the movement. Clockwork seemed amused at his discomfort. "We are here because I need to introduce you to the Council. They've been asking to meet you for over a week now. If we delay any longer, it will create suspicion towards both of us."

Danny felt his non-existent heart speed up. He _hated_ meeting people of authority, especially if he didn't have any warning.

Clockwork noticed his panic. His gaze softened. "You have nothing to fear, Daniel. I chose this moment because it is the opportune time. And remember, one day soon you will be equal, or even more powerful, than all the ghosts you are about to meet. They will keep that in mind. You will not face any disrespect."

Danny tipped his head in thought. It had never occurred to him before, but now he wondered if Clockwork would lie to him. He knew he wasn't telling him the whole truth, but strangely, that didn't bother him that much. A straight up lie, though... Not that Danny really had much control in the situation, anyway. Clockwork knew everything, he couldn't be tricked, and he certainly wouldn't let anything happen that he didn't want to. Danny sighed. "Fine."

"Good." Clockwork smiled.

Danny hated that smile. It just _screamed_ 'I know everything'.

Clockwork chuckled, as if he knew what Danny was thinking. "Now, come along. I can't wait to introduce you to Osmund."


	11. Rigil Kentaurus

**Danny, Sam, and Tucker take a day off.**

* * *

Tucker tried not to be concerned about the floating bowl of popcorn. He knew it was just Danny, but it a bit like something out of a cheesy horror movie. Tucker hated those movies. He'd used to watch them with his grandfather before he died.

Tucker wondered if he was a ghost, then decided that he didn't want to know.

"Come on, Sam!" Danny yelled. That was odd, too, hearing a disembodied voice.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Sam yelled from the other room where she was watching the kettle corn pop. It was a good thing her parents weren't home, Tucker thought.  
Speaking of parents, though...

"Yo, Danny? You, uh, thought about when you're going to let your family know you're still around? They've been looking for you, you know."

Danny flicked a piece of popcorn at Tucker's head. "I've told you, I can't do that. They're _ghost hunters_, I'm a _ghost_. It's, like, the perfect recipe for disaster."

Sam entered the room with a bowl of kettle corn. Tucker didn't know how she could stand it, he much preferred theater-style popcorn. "Danny, normally I would agree. Parents are the worst. But your family are really upset."

"Guys," Danny said. Tucker knew he was frowning just from his tone. "I _really_ don't want to talk about this."

"Alright," Sam's eyes glinted mischievously. "Tell us what you look like."

"_Sam._"

Sam laughed. "Alright, fine. We can watch the movie."

"You know we'll find out eventually, though." Tucker said as Sam turned on the TV.

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Oh," Tucker said with false cheer. "So you've figured out how to turn invisible on command, then?"

"... Shut up."

Sam laughed at them. She stood up, having inserted the DVD, and shoved Tucker to one side of the couch. "Both of you, shut up. I'm starting the movie."

"What are we watching?" Tucker asked as Danny slid beside him.

He could almost feel Danny's grin. "Ghostbusters."

Tucker groaned.


	12. Capella

**Dash is faced with a choice. Mikey is confused.**

* * *

Mikey didn't understand what was going on with Dash.

First he literally chases Danny to his death, then he spends two months in almost complete silence, now he's back to yelling and raging.

And Mikey was the target.

He supposed it was better him than Nathan or Lester, who were far more emotionally fragile. Still, he wished it didn't have to be him either.

Dash had cornered him against a wall and was looking ready to stuff him in a locker.

Mikey sighed, resigned. "Am I the new Danny now?" he muttered to himself, remembering how Danny used to purposely draw Dash's attention away from the other nerds.

At least, he'd meant for it to only be to himself, but Dash heard him. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped. They stared at each other for a long moment, before Dash seemed to make a decision.

Mikey watched in surprise as Dash dropped his fist and walked away.


	13. Betelgeuse

**Danny meets Johnny and Kitty. Jazz reunites with her brother**.

* * *

Danny had gotten bored of shadowing Sam and Tucker. There was only so much one could do at school when you were invisible.

Instead, he had taken to haunting FentonWorks. He enjoyed watching Jazz and his parents chat at the dining table, and work on essays and inventions. He did have to be careful around his parents though. He didn't want to get caught.

One day, while Jazz was at school, and his parents were chasing a ghost in town, Danny was exploring the lab.

He was fiddling with something that looked like a fishing pole when he heard an engine revving, and something burst through the portal. Danny spun to face the noise and froze.

The ghosts, a young man and woman on a motorcycle, froze too.

The three stared at each other.

Finally, the man said, "Uh. Hey, kid. Just passing through."

"Right," Danny said awkwardly.

The two ghosts watched him for a minute, then turned to each other, holding a conversation with twitches of eyebrows and tilting of heads. Finally, the woman sighed and turned to Danny. "We've never seen you around before. You new, kid?"

Danny tipped his head like a bird. "Relatively."

"You have someone to help you out?"

"Yes." Clockwork had warned Danny against telling anyone he knew him. Apparently, it would cause a lot of chaos. Danny didn't know why, but it was best to be safe.

The ghosts shared another glance. "I'm Kitty, and this is Johnny. If you ever need something, we're happy to help, okay."

Johnny looked like he disagreed, but he didn't argue.

Danny fought back a smile. "Okay. Thanks."

Kitty nodded, satisfied. She wrapped her arms around Johnny's waist and they flew out of the lab without another word.

Danny turned back to his snooping, and after a while, he had almost forgotten about the encounter. Then, that afternoon, Jazz snuck the two ghosts back into the building.

She sat them down at the dining table. "Okay, I've gotten you in the building, now for your part. I want answers."

Kitty and Johnny were busy looking around the room, looking nervous. It seemed they had finally realized that the house belonged to ghost hunters.

"Excuse me!" Jazz said impatiently. "Answer me! Have you or have you not met someone called Danny?"

Danny, watching the scene from the doorway, sucked in a breath.

Kitty heard him and glanced over. She looked between him and Jazz, and seemed to realize that he was who she was looking for. She turned to Jazz, looking defensive. "We have not met anyone who introduced themselves as Danny."

Jazz opened her mouth again, but Kitty interrupted her. "My turn. Why do you looking for him?"

Jazz seemed uncharacteristically angry. Danny wondered what had happened before coming back home. "Because he's my brother," she hissed.

Kitty blinked.

"Oh," Johnny said. "I was worried he was, like, an ex-boyfriend or something."

Kitty hit him.

Jazz deflated. "It doesn't matter. You can go back through the portal. Just, keep an eye out for him?"

The two ghosts nodded and thanked her, then followed her down into the basement. Danny followed to watch.

"What about your bike?" Jazz asked.

Johnny shrugged. "Eh. It'll reform in our lair. It's fine."

Jazz still seemed confused, but let it go. She pointed towards the portal. "Well, there you are, I guess."

Kitty smiled. "Thanks sweetie." She stepped through the portal. Johnny followed her with a discreet gesture for Danny to follow.

Danny stared at Jazz for a moment. She seemed defeated. She sighed, and walked back upstairs.

Danny flew through the portal. Kitty and Johnny met him on the other side. Johnny's arms were crossed, and Kitty was staring at him in concern. "You _are_ Danny, right?" She asked.

Danny pursed his lips. "Yes," he said.

"Why haven't you talked to her?" Johnny asked. "She seems pretty desperate, kid."

Danny shrugged. "You guys saw. My family are ghost hunters. I don't really wanna get shot by my own parents."

Kitty shook her head. "Keyword being 'parents'. Your sister seems pretty chill."

Danny snorted. He couldn't imagine Jazz as 'chill'. "No, she's really not."

Johnny grinned. "Alright, yeah, she seemed pretty high-strung, but I don't think she'll pull a gun on you."

"It's just a suggestion," Kitty said, "and I know you don't know us or have any reason to trust us, but I think you should talk to her."

Danny hesitated. Kitty was right, he didn't know them, but he did feel like he could trust them. It was a rare feeling these days, and he cherished it. So, he said, "I'll think about it."

Kitty shrugged. "That's about the best we could hope for, I guess."

"But seriously kid," Johnny placed a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "If you ever have any questions, come find us. Or, hell, if this doesn't work out, feel free to come take it out on us."

Danny laughed.

Kitty smiled at him one last time, then together they flew away.

Danny floated back through the portal and up to the main floor. Jazz was sat at the table again. Her head was dropped into her hands, and she was hunched over in a way Danny had never seen her sit. It worried him. Danny floated closer. He stopped when he was on the other side of the table and crossed his legs midair. A strange noise was echoing through the room. Danny leaned a bit closer, and was horrified to see tears dropping onto the table.

"No, no," Danny said, forgetting that Jazz could hear him. "Don't cry!"

Jazz gasped and looked up. She looked Danny directly in the eyes and screamed.

Danny flew backwards in surprise. As Jazz continued to scream, he decided to leave the room altogether, and darted into the living room. He curled up behind the couch. He looked around the corner into the kitchen. Jazz had stood from her seat. As he turned back around, Danny caught his reflection in the window. It took him far longer than it should have to realize that he shouldn't have been able to. "Oh my god!" Danny jumped off the ground. He flew up until his back hit the ceiling. He hovered there a moment.

Jazz wasn't screaming anymore.

Danny refused to look at her. Instead, he waited in an uncomfortable silence for his sister to say something.

Eventually, she whispered, "Danny?"

Danny nodded, still facing away. He wrapped himself in his cloak, wishing he could hide in the semi-sentient fabric stars.

Jazz reached up and gently tugged on his ankle. "Please come down?"

Danny drifted downwards. His glowing white boots touched the floor, and he hunched his shoulders. He was facing the window. He could see Jazz behind him, her hand hovering over his shoulder. He could also, unfortunately, see his horribly inhuman appearance. It hadn't bothered him before, but until now he was only visible by equally inhuman creatures. Jazz would be the first human to see him. He didn't want to turn around.

But gently, Jazz nudged him into facing her. Danny tried to duck his head but she grabbed his chin and forced him to meet her eyes. They stared at each other for a long time.

Then Jazz began to cry again.

Panicked, Danny darted closer and wrapped his arms around her. Jazz sobbed into his shoulder. Soon, Danny was crying too, whispering apologies. All the while, he wished he could run away.

Finally, the tears stopped and they simply stood there, holding each other.

"You've been hanging out with Sam and Tucker, haven't you?" Jazz whispered.

Danny winced. "Yes."

"Why didn't you visit me?"

"I was scared." It was a weak excuse, but Jazz accepted it.

They stood there a while longer, then Jazz sighed and stepped back, holding Danny at arms length. She scanned him over, taking in each new detail. She lingered on his eyes, seeming a bit uncomfortable, but moved on before Danny could say anything.

Jazz finished with his cloak. She grabbed the edge and rubbed the material between her fingers. "This is so odd. I've never felt anything like it."

"Clockwork gave it to me."

Jazz sent him a weird look. "Who's Clockwork?"

"Uh, my guardian. He took me in, he's teaching me about the Ghost Zone and all that comes with it. Y'know, ghost stuff."

Jazz snorted.

Danny grinned, happy to get a reaction other than tears.

The interrogation continued from there, slowly turning less personal and more clinical. Jazz asked about everything from ghost biology to politics, but Danny couldn't answer most of her questions. She didn't seem to mind.

Eventually they heard the RV pull into the driveway. Danny and Jazz sent each other a _look_, then separated without a word. Jazz ran to her room to start on her next essay, and Danny zipped into the lab and through the portal.

Neither could wipe the smile from their face.


	14. Procyon

**Clockwork teaches Danny to create portals.**

* * *

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Clockwork asked before Danny was even fully in the tower.

"You already know I did." Danny had been visiting Jazz again. He hadn't felt this close to her since they were little. It seemed dying had helped them reconnect, and for once, Danny was thankful for it.

"It is generally considered polite to ask, rather than assume."

"It wouldn't really be assuming in your case."

Clockwork's lips twitched almost lazily.

Danny hesitated. He had learned that that was a dangerous look for Clockwork. "What is it?"

Clockwork turned to face the viewing screens so he didn't have to look at Danny. "I've decided it's time to teach you how to make portals."

"Why now?" Danny frowned. "I didn't even know I could do that."

Clockwork hummed cryptically. "You'll need to learn today if you're going to get enough practice."

Danny scoffed, his good mood evaporating. "I can never get a straight answer out of you."

Clockwork laughed and led Danny up the stairs to a room he hadn't been in before. It was a large room, completely undecorated except for a big symbol etched into the center of the floor.

"What's this?" Danny turned around, looking for any other details. There were none.

"This is the training room, made specifically for you. The sigil is there to help you focus your powers."

Danny nodded. He'd never seen a symbol like it before, so he supposed he'd have to take Clockwork's word for it. Perhaps he should research sigils? He'd been itching to learn something new, now that he didn't have to waste his time on schoolwork.

Clockwork gestured to the symbol.

Danny stepped into the center of the circle, and it lit with green fire. He flinched in surprise. The flames surrounded him, but they didn't burn. In fact, they were almost cold. Danny reached out to touch one.

"Better not," Clockwork warned.

Danny looked at him and pulled his hand back. "Okay. How do I start?"

"Hold your hands together,thumb to thumb." Clockwork demonstrated. "Now, envision a link between them. Pour your energy into that link, and slowly pull your hands apart."

Danny did as he said. Nothing happened.

"That's fine. It will take a few tries to get the energy to manifest, and even longer until it's strong enough to form a portal. Keep doing it until you get a portal the size of your head." Then Clockwork left the room, leaving Danny to practice alone.

Danny stared at the door. He could probably leave, find the library to look up sigils. But... He wasn't sure what would happen if he crossed the green flames.

Danny carefully touched the wall of fire. His hand instantly went numb. He pulled his hand back and shook the feeling back into it. No leaving the circle.

Sighing, Danny crossed his legs, hovering in the center of the circle, and began to practice.

He wasn't sure how long he had been there when he first saw a spark of green energy between his hands. Danny jerked in shock, and the spark dissipated.

Feeling a little better about his efforts, he tried again, this time widening the spark into a small amorphous blob. It disappeared again.

Danny bit his tongue and did it a third time. The blob grew until he could have fit a hand through it.

He continued like this for what was probably hours, though time didn't seem to matter in Clockwork's tower. Each time he tried, the portal grew slightly bigger and more stable, until finally, Danny had a hole in reality the size of his head.

Clockwork entered the room again just as Danny let it go. Danny looked at him triumphantly.

Clockwork nodded at him, something like pride in the curve of his mouth. He waved a hand and the flames tapered out.

Suddenly, Danny felt oddly light-headed. He floated to the floor.

"Be careful standing up, Daniel. Without the sigil to help you maintain your energy, you will feel very faint. Go rest for now, you can pick it up again later."

Danny nodded carefully, wary of his spinning sight, and cautiously walked out of the circle. He didn't want to waste any energy by flying, despite it being almost second nature.

Clockwork floated alongside Danny through the conjoined towers to his room. He had once asked where Clockwork's room was, but apparently only the newest ghost needed to sleep. Danny almost mourned the thought of not needing to sleep anymore, but pushed it aside for later.

By the time they reached Danny's room - which looked something like a hotel room with glow in the dark star stickers on the ceiling - Danny was stumbling.

Clockwork grabbed his shoulder and guided him to his bed. Danny collapsed. He vaguely noted Clockwork turning off the lights with a snap of his fingers, and then he was asleep.


	15. Achernar

**Jack and Maddie shoot their son.**

* * *

Maddie knew something was up with her daughter. They might not have seen each other a lot lately, but Maddie knew Jazz's mannerisms. Jazz was a lot happier this week than she had been in two months. In fact, she almost seemed happier than before. It was odd, because Maddie knew she had been mourning Danny, even if she didn't show it the same way as her parents.

Something was up with her. The only problem was, Maddie had no idea what it was.

"Do you think she could be possessed?" Jack had suggest when she brought it up. "There have been so many ghosts around. We might have missed one."

"A ghost willingly hiding in the home of ghost hunters, though?" Maddie had asked. "It would have to be either really dumb or really brave."

"Yeah, it's almost unthinkable, but that's why it's the perfect hiding spot! Think about it, Mads, what else could it be?"

Almost anything, Maddie thought, but Jack had already latched onto the idea, so she agreed to help him test Jazz for symptoms of possession.

They waited until that evening, when Jazz got home from tutoring at the school. They pretended to be busy a while longer, not wanting to alarm her, but eventually they crept up the stairs, ghost weapons and exorcising machine in hand.

They stopped outside her door and began to silently count down, when they heard something odd.

Jazz was talking to someone. "Okay so now you carry that. No, the other one."

Another voice mumbled something back, too quiet for Maddie to make out the words.

"Yes, good. Now add that number."

The voice responded again, still unintelligible, but recognizable by it tone as irritated. Did Jazz have a boy in there?

"No, you're not getting out of this. You may be dead, but you still need to know math to make it in the world."

Maddie's heart skipped a beat. Jazz was teaching _math_ to a _ghost?_ Without another second, she and Jack burst through the door, weapons raised.

Jazz and the ghost screamed.

Maddie aimed at the spectral being, already fading into invisibility, and pulled the trigger.

"Mom, no!" Jazz shouted, ramming into her just as the weapon fired.

Instead of blowing straight through the ghost's head, the blast grazed it's shoulder. It shrieked and disappeared with a flash of green energy, leaving behind only a few drops of ectoplasm.

Jack tried to grab Jazz, to move her out of the room, but she fought back. She elbowed her dad in the diaphragm, and when he dropped her she ran to Maddie.

"How could you?" She shouted. Maddie had never seen her look so betrayed. "He was afraid of this, you know! Every time he visited he would mention the possibility that this might happen, and each time I told him it wouldn't!"

"Jazz," Maddie tried to reason with her normally rational daughter. "It was a ghost, of course we -"

"He's your son!" Jazz screamed.

Everyone fell silent. The only sound in the room was Jack's quiet wheezing. Maddie suddenly envied his ability - however impaired it was at the moment - to breathe. She didn't feel she could get her lungs to start working again. "What?" She whispered.

Jazz met her eyes defiantly. "That was Danny. Your son. And you just shot him."

"Danny's a ghost?" Jack wheezed, just as confused and startled as Maddie felt.

"Obviously. He's been visiting me nearly every day this past week. I was trying to prove to him that he could still trust us, and then you go and do this! We'll be lucky if we ever see him again!"

Maddie looked down at the floor, feeling dizzy. It was covered in textbooks and loose-leaf papers. Algebra equations were scribbled on them in Danny's chicken scratch script and Jazz's delicate bubble letters. They had been halfway through the last equation when they were interrupted.

Maddie's eyes were drawn to a spot of green on one of the papers. Danny's blood. Her son was bleeding because she had shot him. She had shot Danny. She felt like she was going to throw up or faint, and she didn't know which she would prefer.

"No," Jack said. "That can't be Danny. Ghosts are... They're evil?"

"No, they're not. Not all of them." Jazz replied angrily. "Not Danny. And that _was_ him. And now we'll probably never see him again, thanks to you two."

Maddie threw up.


	16. Hadar

**Jack and Maddie talk things over.**

* * *

Jack sat on the couch beside Maddie, a bowl of fudge and bottle of wine waiting on the table. Maddie still looked pale, and Jack wanted to warn her against drinking, but she had already poured herself a glass, so he let it go.

To be totally honest, Jack was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the situation. Danny, a ghost? But ghosts were evil. Except Jazz said they weren't, and she was typically a good judge of character.

It just didn't make sense to him, but apparently it did to Maddie.

So he asked, "Mads, what does this mean for us?"

"It means," Maddie took a sip, "that our own son is the very thing we hunt. And he's afraid of us. And he should be."

"Why should he be afraid of us?" Jack countered. "We'd never hurt him, ghost or not."

"But we did!" Maddie cried. "Or, I did, anyway. Jack, I shot our son."

Jack gripped Maddie's shoulder, suddenly wondering where Danny was and if he was okay. Probably. There hadn't been a lot of ectoplasm left behind. "Maddie, you didn't know it was him. He knows that. You were just doing your job."

"Exactly! Our job, Jack! We're ghost hunters, and our son is a ghost! I can't keep doing this, knowing that our son is a potential target!"

Jack shook her gently. "Maddie, we have to. There are ghosts causing havoc throughout the whole town, and we're the only ones who can help. We'll just... have to be more careful who we attack. Make sure that they're actually doing harm, first."

Maddie shook her head. "What about Danny?"

"When he comes back, we'll apologize, explain ourselves. We'll adjust our equipment so it doesn't target him. Eventually, it'll be like he never... left."

"How can you be so certain he'll come back?"

Jack grinned. "He's a Fenton. We stick together."

Maddie snorted. Jack knew she didn't believe him, because her own family had had a falling out when she was in high school, but Jack also knew that Danny and Jazz had gotten very close since reuniting. At the very least, he'd come back for her. Jack grabbed the fudge and left Maddie to her thoughts, staying beside her in case she needed him, but giving her the space to figure things out for herself. He had almost finished the bowl when Maddie sighed.

"You're right." She nodded. "Danny will come back, even if it takes some time. And when he does, we will prove to him that we still love him, and that we'll never hurt him, even if it takes giving up ghost hunting. Until then, though... Let's start modifying our equipment."


	17. Altair

**Vlad visits Amity Park.**

* * *

Vlad Masters was a busy man, but he supposed he ought to make time for this. For Maddie's sake, at the least.

After he had given Jack and Maddie the blueprints for a faulty ghost portal, Vlad had waited patiently for news of a terrible accident, hopefully one in which Jack had died. Instead, he had heard nothing for three weeks, and then news from Amity Park went nuts. There were claims of ghosts everywhere, but no injuries.

A little frustrated, Vlad had gone back through the news articles of the past few weeks, searching for anything to do with Jack being maimed or murdered by a ghost or electrocuted by an invention. Instead, he found the obituary for Daniel Fenton.

Vlad had never met the boy, but he recognized him from the Christmas cards Jack sent out every year. Vlad had watched him grow up, in a way, and it almost pained him to think that he wouldn't see him again. But, Vlad was nothing if not an opportunist, so he found an opening in his schedule - almost two months after the activation of the portal - and planned a trip to Amity Park.

He arrived at FentonWorks early in the morning, just in time to see a young girl leave the house. He recognized her as Jasmine, the older child. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder, so he assumed she was heading into school early. It didn't start this early, did it? Vlad didn't know. The girl seemed angry, so Vlad waited until she had driven away before crossing the street. He climbed the stairs, trying not to wince at the eccentricity of the house, and rang the doorbell.

He had been expecting a loud crash as Jack dropped whatever he had been doing to run to the door, like he had in college. Instead, slow footsteps ambled closer, and the door opened with a solemn creak. There stood Maddie. Her hood was down for once, revealing straggly hair and tired eyes.

Vlad was shocked into silence.

Maddie grinned wearily. "Vlad! How nice to see you! Come on in."

"Er, right." Vlad entered the home into the living room. It there were photo albums spread across the coffee table. He tried not to look, but still saw a photo of a younger Danny with Maddie.

"Jack's just down in the lab. Would you like a drink?" Maddie glanced over her shoulder as she led him into the kitchen.

"Oh, no thank you." Vlad thought she seemed oddly well put together for someone who had lost a child, despite her appearance. "How are you doing?"

Maddie hesitated. "You heard, then?"

"Yes," Vlad said as gently as he knew how. "I'm sorry it took so long for me to come out here, but I didn't think it was something we should discuss over the phone."

"No," Maddie agreed. "Probably not."

Vlad tried to think of what else to say. He had never been in this situation before. He didn't know what to do.

"Let me go get Jack," Maddie said before he could think of anything. "He should be here too."

Vlad nodded, trying not to let her see how much his mood had just soured. He sat at the dining table while Maddie called her husband up from the lab.

Jack raced up the stairs. "Vladdie!"

Vlad struggled not to wince. "Jack. Hello." He warded off a hug. ""Ah, better now. I just got over a cold."

Maddie set a bowl of fudge on the table, and Jack sat down. "Are you here to see the portal?"

"Actually, I'm here to check on you." Vlad glanced at Maddie. She had sat at the table with a glass of water. She seemed very pale.

"Oh."

Vlad looked back at Jack and was surprised to see him looking the most serious Vlad had ever seen him. Suddenly, Vlad noticed the bags under his eyes and the tension in his jaw.

Uncomfortable, Vlad cleared his throat. "You don't have to talk about it, of course. But you should know that if you need anything, you only have to ask." This was mostly directed towards Maddie, but he couldn't just overtly exclude Jack.

"Thank you, Vlad, we appreciate it." Maddie stared past him into the living room room. Vlad guessed she was trying to see the albums.

"Ah, are those pictures?" He asked, unsure what else to say.

Maddie smiled sadly. "Yes, we've been making an album just for Danny. Would you like to see?"

Vlad agreed, and all three went back into the living room. They sat together on the couch and flipped through the book, Maddie pointing out her favorite pictures and explaining where and when they were taken. They did that for a few hours, sitting quietly until Jazz came home from school.

Vlad suddenly realized how long he had been there, and jumped to his feet. "I'm so sorry, my dear, but I have a meeting tomorrow morning, and if I leave now I won't arrive back in time to get any sleep."

Maddie smiled. "Of course, it's no problem. Thank you for visiting, it was wonderful to see you again."

Jack nodded. Vlad realized that he hadn't said a word in hours, but couldn't bring himself to worry. He nodded back, politeness ingrained in his very core, waved to Maddie, and left.

It was only later, on the drive home, that Vlad realized he had skipped over a perfect opportunity to sabotage the portal.


	18. Acrux

**Danny spies on the newcomer. He does not like what he finds.**

* * *

Danny was extremely nervous. It had been a few day since the incident, and he desperately wanted to visit his friends. He hadn't spoken with them since before disappearing, so he knew they were probably worried about him. He was just too afraid of his parents to go through the portal.

He had tried making his own portal, but it hadn't been stable enough to step through, and had opened to some snowy place that was _definitely_ not Amity Park. Danny wondered why Clockwork had him learn to make portals if he wasn't going to teach him how to do it correctly. And for what reason? Clockwork hadn't told him when he would use it, but Danny thought it would be rather helpful now.

Danny floated in front of the entrance to the FentonWorks portal, pacing in midair and scaring away any ghosts who approached. He was mentally calculating the odds of running into his parents. Clockwork had assured him that they didn't mean to hurt him and wouldn't do it again, and the burn on his arm had already healed, but he still wasn't ready to confront them.

After hours of contemplation, Danny sighed and invisibly floated through the portal. He reached the other side just in time to see his dad run up the stairs. Curious about what could have him so excited, Danny forgot his fears and followed.

In the kitchen, his parents sat across from a tall smarmy-looking man. He was practically oozing charisma. Danny instantly didn't trust him. He watched and listened as the man chatted with his mom and ignored his dad. Danny wasn't normally an eavesdropper, and he felt guiltier the longer he stayed there, but his gut told him that something was wrong, so he stayed. After a while, he noticed something odd.

His dad wasn't speaking.

Sure, he was paying attention and following the conversation, but he didn't join in. It was incredibly odd to Danny, who was used to his dad rambling about anything and everything.

Something was wrong, and it had to do with this new man. Vlad, his mom had called him, seemed to make his dad uncomfortable. Danny was uncomfortable too, but he didn't think his dad was picking up on the same gut feeling that he was. No, Jack discomfort came from something else, but Danny had no clue what.

By the time the group had moved to the living room - Danny was both flattered and embarrassed at getting his own photo album, but he supposed it meant his parents still loved him - Danny had realized something else that made his skin crawl. He watched the way that Vlad hung on his mom's every word, and realized that Vlad had a crush on his mom. Danny shuddered, thoroughly disturbed. He wondered if that was the reason for his dad's odd behavior, but dismissed it quickly. Danny doubted his dad would notice something like jealousy.

When Vlad left, Danny followed him. Something was very wrong with this man, other than having a thing for Danny's mom. He would almost say that Vlad wasn't human.

He rested on top of Vlad's car during the long drive to Wisconsin, spending time by counting the stars that he could always see no matter what time of day. After hours of driving, they arrived at a large mansion. The outside was painted green and gold, and Danny was willing to bet the inside was too. The thing was built like a castle, with numerous turrets and towers. There were even tiny flags hung above the absurdly large front door.

Danny discretely followed Vlad inside, where, sure enough, everything was green and gold. It was also, however, decorated with football memorabilia. _Dash would love this place,_ he thought.

Danny had thought that Vlad would go straight to bed when he arrived, and that he would be free to snoop around, but rather than heading to a bedroom, the man walked into an office. Danny followed, curious. Vlad tipped a statuette and, like a cheesy movie, a secret door opened in the wall.

Danny stared in astonishment. He stood still so long that, by the time he snapped out of it, Vlad had already disappeared down the hidden stairway and the door had closed.

Danny phased through the false wall and floated cautiously down the stairs. He came out into something that resembled his parents lab. Vlad was hunched over a table, flipping through blueprints. Finally he pulled one out of the stack and tacked it up on a mounted clipboard. _It _is_ a lab_, Danny realized. He gazed around the room, careful to move out of Vlad's way when he began to circle the room gathering instruments. There were multiple work tables covered in equipment, and strange chemical vats pushed up against the walls.

Finally, Danny turned around and came face to face with a ghost portal. It was far bigger than his parents' portal, and looked like it was made of better materials. Danny stared at it in shock.

There was a clicking noise behind him. Danny spun and found the barrel of a weapon pointed in his face. He froze. He had thought he was still invisible.

"Now," Vlad said far too calmly, "you are going to tell me who you are, why you were following me, and what you want from me."

Danny's eyes crossed when he tried to focus on the weapon. He licked his lips. "Uh. Why do you have a ghost portal?"

"No, I asked you first. Why are you here?"

Danny didn't answer.

"Do you even know who I am?"

"I know your name is Vlad," Danny hedged.

Vlad smirked. "That's a no, then." Then he did something that thoroughly confused and shocked Danny. He stepped back and a pair of black glowing rings appeared around his waist, moving up and down. Where the rings passed, Vlad's appearance changed. His black suit turned into a white tunic and pants, his skin turned blue, his hair turned black, and he gained a high collared red and white cape.

Danny backed as far away as he could. Energy sparked at his fingers in preparation to defend himself. "What are you?!"

Vlad laughed. "I'm a halfa, my boy, though that's all you really need to know." He darted forward, baring gigantic fangs.

Danny shot upwards, phasing through the ceiling, into the office, and up out of the mansion entirely.

Vlad chased him. "You're obviously new, or you would have been warned against getting on my bad side. If you tell me why you were following me, perhaps I'll let you go."

Danny glanced over his shoulder. Vlad was gaining on him fast. He looked up at the stars for direction, then flew as fast as he could towards Illinois.  
Vlad continued to follow, spewing taunts and threats. Danny was beginning to tire, but Vlad looked like he was perfectly at home flying 100 miles per hour.

Danny began to feel desperate. He was running out of ideas, and stamina. He had never been a very athletic person, and dying hadn't helped. Danny was about to turn around and fight Vlad head-on, hoping to catch him off guard, when he got an idea. Still flying at top speed, Danny began to create a portal in his hands. It grew slowly, and Vlad let out a shocked exclamation as he saw it. Finally, it was just barely big enough to fit through. Danny released the energy and zipped through, not caring where he ended up.

Danny turned back to anxiously watch as the portal closed inches from Vlad's furious face.

With a sigh, Danny floated downwards.

"Are you alright, Daniel?"

Danny flinched and looked around. He was in Clockwork's tower, in the viewing room. He was slumped on the floor, leaning against a floating gear. Clockwork hovered in front of him, looking concerned. Danny opened his mouth, but his adrenaline was so high that he could only babble unintelligibly.

Clockwork held out a hand to pull Danny to his feet. "Go rest. You can ask your questions later."

Trembling, Danny nodded. He knew that Clockwork had decided not to say anything until later, so he didn't really have any other options. Danny trudged to his room and lay in his bed. He was exhausted, but he couldn't sleep. His brain was racing with questions, recounting the horrifying chase and Vlad's transformation.  
He didn't want to see something like that ever again, but he knew instinctually that whatever had just happened, it was only the beginning.


	19. Aldebaran

**Danny asks Clockwork about halfas.**

* * *

Clockwork wasn't in the viewing room anymore when Danny went looking for him. Danny floated in the center of the room, glancing around for a sign of his mentor. Danny's eyes caught one of the screens.

It showed himself when he was alive. Danny recognized the scene. He was walking into the basement with Sam and Tucker. Sam held up her camera and pointed to the portal. Danny watched as his past self pulled on a spare hazmat suit and stepped into the portal.

The screen filled with static and the image fizzled out. Danny stared at it curiously.

"In here, Daniel." Clockwork said from the next room.

Danny turned and flew through the doorway. He had never been in Clockwork's office before. Danny wondered why he even had one.

The walls were filled, floor to ceiling, with hourglasses. Each one moved at a different speed, from almost no movement to fast draining. There were no identifying marks on the devices, but Danny assumed Clockwork knew what each one was for.

Clockwork was hovering by the far wall, marking something down in a large leather-bound book in a language Danny didn't recognize. "You have questions."

"Yes," Danny replied. He was getting used to Clockwork stating the obvious. "What are halfas?"

He couldn't get the image of Vlad's transformation out of his head.

Clockwork nodded. He wave a hand and the book disappeared. "Halfas are rare creatures. They are entities that walk the line between life and death. They are formed when ectoplasm mixes with living blood."

Danny frowned. "How would that happen?"

"There is only one way." Clockwork stared him in the eyes. "A portal to the Ghost Zone must open with a living person inside."

Danny froze. He thought back to the scene from the viewing screen.

As if he knew what Danny was thinking of, Clockwork nodded. "In another timeline, your parents portal opened with you inside and you, Daniel, became the second halfa in existence."

Danny shuddered. He couldn't imagine being a halfa. He supposed, in the other timeline, he was probably grateful to be at least half alive. But here, now, Danny felt utterly repulsed at the thought of being such a strange hybrid. It was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Suddenly, Danny realized something. "You said it happened in another timeline? So you changed things to this timeline, right? Why did you do that?"

Clockwork smiled. "I liked this one better."

That bothered Danny, but he didn't argue. If Clockwork was strong enough to change any moment of time, who was to say that Danny hadn't already done this before, only to forget due to interference? "How did Vlad encounter a portal?"

"He and your parents created a prototype in college. As I'm sure you can guess, it ended badly."

Danny hummed. His parents didn't talk much about their college days. Danny had always assumed that was just because nothing interesting happened, but maybe it was because of whatever had happened to Vlad? It had to have been bad for his parents to cover it up. "Can you tell me anything else about him?"

Clockwork smirked at him.

"I'm guessing that's a no," Danny sighed. "Alright, fine."

Clockwork turned to examine the hourglasses, sometimes fiddling with one or turning another. Danny watched him work in silence.

Finally, Clockwork said, "If you want to know more, you should talk to your parents."

Danny frowned. He didn't want to see them, but what Clockwork said made sense. His parents knew Vlad from around the time of the accident. And he had to talk to them eventually, anyways. They had plenty to discuss.

Danny sighed. "Tomorrow. I'll talk to them tomorrow. Today, though, I'm going to find Jazz."

Danny didn't wait for Clockwork to argue. He turned and left the tower. As he flew to the FentonWorks portal, his mind raced with thoughts of Vlad and his parents. He was dreading seeing all three of them again, but even without Clockwork telling him, he knew he had to.

Hopefully, Jazz could help him.


	20. Antares

**Danny talks with his parents.**

* * *

Jazz had come to Maddie just before dinner.

"Danny's back," she said.

Maddie dropped her tools and shot out of her seat. Jazz raised a hand to stop her.

"Wait," Jazz warned.

Maddie sat back down. She bit her lip to hold back her questions.

Jazz sat across from her, looking stern. "He's still scared of you, but he has something he needs to ask you about. He won't tell me what." She frowned. "He's asked me to arrange a meeting with you and Dad. Tomorrow, after lunch. "You __will not__ bring any weapons or analyzing equipment. You will not touch him. You will not press him for answers he doesn't want to give. If you break any of these rules, or you make Danny uncomfortable, the meeting is over and you may not speak to him. Understand?"

Maddie didn't like being ordered about by her daughter, but she knew that was only her pride talking. She was willing to push it aside for Danny's sake. "I understand."

Jazz nodded and went downstairs to have the same talk with Jack.

Maddie got back to her work, but she didn't get much done. She felt like she was in a fog all through the night and into the next day.

Lunch was a quiet affair. The three Fentons had slept in late, because it was a weekend and they could get away with it for once, and now they sat around the dining table, poking at their food and waiting for Danny to show up. Jazz had forbidden Maddie and Jack from entering the lab until after the meeting, so that Danny would be able to sneak through the portal without interference.

Around one o'clock, Jazz heard something moving in the basement. She stood, sent her parents a stern look, and walked downstairs.

Maddie waited impatiently. She could hear Danny and Jazz talking, but they were too quiet for her to make it out. Jack placed his hand over hers and squeezed. Maddie turned to him. He looked just as nervous as she felt. They shared a weary smile.

Finally, they heard Jazz's footsteps climbing the stairs. They stared at the doorway eagerly.

Maddie saw Jazz first. She seemed uncomfortable, but determined. She sent her parents a warning look, and stepped to the side.

Then Danny appeared. At least, Maddie assumed it was Danny. The face shape was the same, but everything else seemed to have changed. Danny's eyes were mismatched, one like a void with a single shining star for a pupil, the other's iris was a pale icy blue. His skin was a pastel green, with darker green freckles spattered across his cheeks. His hair was odd, too. It seemed to be a mix of black and white streaks. Maddie realized that it looked like a meteor shower against a pitch black sky.

Danny's clothes were also strange and new. His shirt seemed to be painted on, black fading into green around his neck. His pants were the same shade of void, flaring around his shins slightly. His boots, interestingly, were a bright glowing white, and streamlined rather than clunky. Lastly, he wore a pitch black cloak with a clasp shaped like a planet with a ring at his throat.

Jazz cleared her throat, and Maddie realized that she had been staring. She shook her head.

Jack coughed awkwardly.

Danny was curling in on himself from where he floated just off the floor.

The room was drenched in uncomfortable silence.

Finally, Jazz sighed. "Alright, people, let's get this moving."

Danny straightened. "Right." His voice had a strange echoing undertone. "I have something to tell you, but first - what can you tell me about Vlad?"

Maddie frowned. How did he know about Vlad?

Jazz muttered, "Who's Vlad?" She seemed confused by the topic.

"Oh!" Jack said excitedly. "We went to college with Vlad! The three of us were the only engineering majors interested in ghosts. We did everything together!"

"Until," Danny interrupted, "he got in an accident with one of your projects. Right?"

Jack sobered instantly. "Right."

Maddie squeezed her husband's hand. "The Proto-Portal exploded. The blast hit him in the face, and Vlad was hospitalized for years. We tried to keep contact, but the hospital wouldn't let us visit, and we eventually grew too busy. We gave up."

"We kept tabs on him, though. He's an amazing businessman, really made a name for himself." Jack smiled proudly. "A few years ago Vlad offered to fund our research. It's because of him that we were able to create the portal in the first place."

Maddie shrugged. "When the portal didn't work, we visited Vlad to have him go over our blueprints. We were going to start over, you see, try a different method. But then you had your accident..."

Danny and Jazz winced.

"So we rebuilt the portal, using the revised blueprints. And it worked. It's thanks to Vlad that we can see you again." Maddie smiled tearily.

Danny nodded. He floated silently for a moment, thinking.

"Okay," He said eventually. "You've filled in the blanks, thank you. Now."

He turned to stare at Jack and Maddie challengingly. "You say you still love me. Prove it. Listen to what I have to say without interrupting or judging me. Actually __think__ about what I tell you before you say anything."

The adults were confused. "Sweetie, of course we'll listen to you. Why wouldn't we?"

"Because you're __really__ not going to like what I tell you." Danny frowned determinedly. "But you need to know, you need a warning."

Jazz furrowed her brow. "Wait, does this have something to do with Vlad?"

"It has everything to do with him." Danny looked grim. "Vlad isn't human."

Jack instantly opened his mouth to argue, but Jazz sent him a look, and he stopped.

"Not really, anyway. He's something called a halfa. Half human, half ghost. It was his accident with the Proto-Portal, it mixed his blood with ectoplasm." Seeing the disbelieving looks his family sent him, Danny hurried through his explanation. "You don't have to believe me, but it's true. I __saw__ him transform, right in front of me. He chased me through half of Wisconsin, I didn't hallucinate it!"

"Calm down, Danny," Jazz soothed. "Yes, it's hard to believe, but I know you wouldn't lie." She sent her parents a look that said, __'You'd better__ not__accuse him of lying.'__

"Hon," Maddie shared a glance with Jack. "It's not that we don't want to believe you, but none of our evidence suggests anything like what you're proposing. It's just not possible."

Danny scowled, revealing tiny fangs in place of his canines. "It __is__ possible, and I've seen it."

His family shared a look, and Danny sighed.

"But that's not important. You'll see the proof soon enough. What you really need to worry about is that Vlad has his own ghost portal. It's in his basement, in a secret lab. He has weapons and a supply of ectoplasm and a __giant__ portal, more advanced than yours. I asked around earlier today, and apparently Vlad has a truce with some really dangerous ghosts. You need to be on the lookout for them, because I think he'll try to send them after you."

"But why would Vlad try to hurt us? He's our friend." Jack frowned. He was having a hard time making sense of this.

"No," Danny said. "He's just pretending to be. He blames you for his accident."

Jack and Maddie looked at each other, unsure how to react.

Jazz sighed. "How about we end the meeting for today? We've all got a lot to think about. Danny, go spend some time with Sam and Tucker before you leave, they've been worried about you. I'll let you know when we can continue this conversation. Mom and dad, how about you go take some time to think? You've had to take in a lot of information today. Tell me when you're ready to talk again, and I'll set things up."

All three looked ready to argue, but Jazz sent them a look and they backed off. They all sat in silence. Finally, Maddie sighed, stood from her seat, and took a step towards Danny.

He floated backwards.

Maddie froze. She looked pained. "Baby," she said, "I'm so sorry for what happened the other day. I'd take it back if I could. I love you, and I would never knowingly hurt you."

Danny looked conflicted.

Maddie sighed again. "That said, I'll give you time. I won't push my boundaries. It's up to you if and when you want to reconnect." She sat back down. Jack squeezed her hand.

Danny floated in the doorway to the lab. He tipped his head, thinking something over. He looked to Jazz for help, but she only shrugged. Danny turned back to his parents. "I can't forgive you, not yet." He looked uncomfortable. "But I will, someday. And I still love you two."

Before anyone could react, he zipped forward and gave his parents a fast hug, then flew back down into the lab.

Jazz left to give her parents privacy to cry.


	21. Spica

**Jack and Maddie discuss Vlad.**

* * *

Jack sat with Maddie on the couch again, this time without any wine or fudge. They were too emotionally drained to bother with it. Jazz had gone to bed an hour ago, so it was just the two of them, left alone to discuss their son and old friend.

"How does Danny even know Vlad?" Maddie muttered. "I don't think we've ever mentioned him before."

"We must have at some point," Jack argued. "I send him Christmas cards every year."

Maddie seemed surprised. "You still do that?"

"Of course!"

Maddie shook her head. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. What we should focus on is Danny."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Jack watched his wife for a reaction.

"I don't know. Normally, I would say that Danny is a terrible liar, but ghosts aren't honest beings. Everything he says sounds too crazy to be true."

"But it's Danny. We've already proven that he's not like other ghosts."

Maddie stared at him. "Jack, are you telling me that you believe that Vlad is half ghost?"

"I don't know!" Jack defended. "Maybe Danny got frightened and jumped to conclusions. He's still a kid, after all."

"A kid forever..."

Jack winced. He quickly tried to change the subject. "I'm most interested in where Danny's getting his information."

Maddie blinked. "You're right. They might be lying to him, or have false information. It may not be his fault at all."

"So," Jack decided. "Next time we see him, we ask him."

"What about the portal, though?"

"What?"

"Danny said Vlad has a portal. He said he saw it." Maddie frowned. "If that's true, why wouldn't Vlad tell us? He must have known we were still trying to build one. If he had told us that he had succeeded, who knows how long ago, we could have started our explorations long ago."

"But if Vlad has a portal, why haven't we heard about ghosts in Wisconsin?"

Maddie seemed to realize something. She sat up straight. "If Vlad has a working portal, why would he give us blueprints for one without an off switch?"


	22. Fomalhaut

**Valerie's life is turned upside down.**

* * *

Danny had followed Sam and Tucker to school again. It was a boring way to spend his day, as he had to stay silent and invisible and not interact with anything for fear of being discovered. But he figured he owed it to his friends after going days without contact, and worrying them so badly.

So when Danny sensed a ghost just after lunch, he was almost giddy at the opportunity to leave the building. He discretely scribbled a message in Sam's notebook - Tucker never took notes, so Sam shared hers - and phased through the wall to the parking lot.

Danny couldn't see anything on his first scan of the area, so he resorted to floating around a bit. He could hear students inside in class, and others playing some game on the field around the corner. The lot was filled with cars so Danny had to check behind each one. Eventually, he fly straight up to see the lot from above, and he finally noticed a small green glow by the dumpster.

Danny floated nearby, preparing for an attack, and stuck his head around the corner of the dumpster. He stared.

It was a dog. A puppy, really, given how small it was. It was a bright glowing green, with black ears and red eyes, and a spiked black collar. It's tail was a small wisp of ectoplasmic energy, disconnected from it's body, but still wagging happily.

"Oh." Danny said. "Hello."

The puppy pulled it's nose out of a paper bag and turned to look at him. A purple tongue hung out of it's mouth.

Danny relaxed. "What are you doing here, little guy?"

The puppy barked happily.

Danny smiled and knelt beside the dog. It bristled, but he didn't notice. He reached out a hand, and managed to get within an inch of it's head when the dog growled. Danny immediately pulled back.

The dog didn't like his sudden movement. It took a step closer, still growling, and Danny watched as it grew from the size of his foot to twice his height.

Danny shrunk away. "Oh boy."

The dog stepped closer, looking ready to attack. Danny prepared himself to be mauled, when suddenly the dog froze. It lifted it's head and sniffed the air. It barked, loud enough to rattle Danny's eardrums, and took off running down the street.

Once Danny's vision stopped spinning, he followed.

* * *

Valerie really didn't understand why she had to be here. She knew that it was a big deal for her Daddy, but she wasn't involved in this. She didn't have anything to do with the security system he had installed. She would much rather be out with Star, checking out that new boutique on 5th Street.

Instead, Valerie followed her Daddy on a tour of Axion Labs as he introduced his employer to the new, state-of-the-art security system. The big boss man was looking pleased, and Valerie was expecting him to pass over a check any moment now, when the wall burst open.

Rubble crashed to the floor. Everyone in the room screamed and ducked. A piece of wall slammed into the ground inches from Valerie's foot. She was too shocked to move.

A giant green beast pushed through the opening in the wall. It roared, and leaped into the room.

Valerie's dad grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her out of the way. They crawled behind an upturned table.

"Are you okay, baby?"

"F-fine," Valerie stuttered. "What is that thing?"

Damon glanced at the beast. "Probably another ghost. I haven't seen this one before, though."

Of course it was a ghost. Valerie knew all about the ghosts attacking Amity Park, but she hadn't seen one up close before. She hadn't realized how much damage they could cause.

Suddenly, Valerie was angry. This ghost was ruining her Daddy's presentation. She refused to let anything mess with her family. She stood and leapt over the table, ignoring her father's efforts to pull her back into hiding. "Hey! Ghost!"

The beast turned to look at her with menacing red eyes. Valerie realized that it was a dog. Valerie knew a lot about dogs, and she thought it looked a little like her grandfather's old Doberman.

The dog growled and took a step towards her.

Valerie suddenly realized just how _big_ the ghost was. It was easily the size of a truck. She backed away, feeling like an idiot. Her dad was still trying to grab her, but she kept slipping out of reach. The dog stepped even closer, and Valerie was suddenly sure that she was about to add to Amity's ghost population.

"Hey, Cujo!"

All attention turned to the ghost floating just inside the hole in the wall. It was a young boy, looking eerily inhuman, and seeming ragged. If he had to breathe, Valerie thought, he'd be hunched over panting.

"Cujo!" He called again, waving his cloak like a flag. "Come here, leave the nice people alone!"

Was this _his_ dog? Valerie was suddenly angry again.

Luckily for her, before she could say anything, the dog turned and ran towards the boy, chasing him out of the building and down the street.

People climbed out of their hiding places, glancing around nervously. The room resounded with concerned mumbles, as everyone checked on each other's safety. Damon grabbed onto Valerie and held her tight, his chin resting on her head. Valerie hugged him back, trembling with anger and fear.

When they separated, they noticed Damon's boss stalking towards them angrily.

Damon deflated. "I'm fired, aren't I?"

His boss snarled. "Immediately and without hesitation."

* * *

Sam and Tucker sat on a bench across from Valerie's house, Danny hovering just above them.

"Stop feeling guilty, Danny," Sam didn't even bother to look up from her book. "It's not your fault, or your responsibility."

"Yeah dude," Tucker chipped in. "You've never had a pet before, it makes sense you couldn't control a dog."

Sam elbowed him in the ribs.

"But guys," Danny frowned. "They've lost their _house_ because of me. And her dad lost his job."

Sam snapped her book shut. "But Danny, that wasn't your fault. Like we keep telling you, you can't control the actions of that ghost dog. What would Clockwork tell you?"

Danny sighed. He swished his cloak over his friends shoulders. They didn't feel it. "He would say that everything happens for a reason, and if I couldn't stop it, then it was meant to happen."

"Good," Tucker said. "That's three people telling you the same thing, plus Jazz if she knew about this. So how come you won't listen to us?"

Danny shrugged. He watched as Damon and Valerie walked in and out of the house, carrying labeled boxes to the moving truck or adding things to the yard sale pile. "Will you help her?"

Sam groaned, but Tucker shrugged. He put his PDA in his pocket and crossed the street. Sam reluctantly followed.

Tucker reached Valerie just as she tripped. He grabbed the box she was carrying and helped her find her balance. "Hey Val. I heard what happened."

"Oh, great." Valerie snorted. "Word's already oozed down to the bottom of the social grapevine."

Tucker jerked back.

"Hey!" Sam snapped. "Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you can take it out on him! He just wants to help, since none of your own friends will."

"I don't _want_ any help." Valerie hissed. "I want to be left alone."

Sam rolled her eyes and turned to look at the clothes hanging on the hedges.

Valerie picked up the box and carried it over to the truck.

Tucker sent an uncomfortable look at where he thought Danny was. He was off by a few feet, but Danny got the message anyway. The problem was, Danny didn't know what to do. With a sigh, he tapped on Tucker's shoulder, letting him know that he could leave. Tucker shrugged and left to collect Sam.

As the trio began to cross the street, Danny heard an echo of a bark. He froze. Sam and Tucker turned around.

Inside the truck, Valerie heard it too. She gasped and ran back outside.

All four watched in horror as the ghost dog crawled up through the ground. It stomped on the yard sale pile, smashing an armoire.

Valerie shrieked.

Danny took advantage of the chaos to fade into visibility. He shot towards Cujo, grabbed his collar, and pulled him into the sky and away from the breakable items. Cujo thrashed and rolled like a crocodile, and Danny lost his grip. He got tangled in his cloak and lost his hold of gravity, crashing to the ground. Cujo followed, snarling.

Sam, Tucker, and Valerie darted out of range, but stayed close enough that Danny could hear Valerie say, "Why does that dog keep following me?"

Danny struggled to climb out of the pile of cloth. Cujo wrapped his jaws around Danny's ankle and shook him in the air. Danny yelped and turned intangible, flying out of reach as fast as he could.

Cujo chased him, crushing Valerie's belongings in the process.

Valerie began yelling again.

Panicked, Danny turned and faced the ghost dog head on. He caught Cujo in the throat with his elbow. Cujo choked, and Danny wrestled him to the ground. He scratched behind the dog's ear. After a moment, Cujo's tail began to wag and he shrank back to his smaller size.

Exhausted, Danny hurriedly scooped up the puppy and flew away. As he left, he heard Valerie begin to cry.

* * *

**Thus begins Valerie's arc! I've always loved Valerie, she's such a great character.**

**These are gonna start getting longer, just FYI if you like the shorter chapters like my grandma does. **

**To the anon known as LdR: Thank you! You'll have to wait a while for the things you mentioned to come up, but they will happen in part/chapter 36 and 38, as long as my outline stays on track!**


	23. Deneb

**Vlad recruits Valerie.**

* * *

"Danny?"

Danny sighed. He had been trying to sneak into the lab unnoticed, but it seemed that wasn't in the cards for today. "Hi Mom."

Maddie stared at him in surprise. "Sweetie, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Sam and Tucker." She looked at Cujo, tucked under Danny's arm. "What's that?"

Danny shrugged. He looked down. "This is Cujo. He's, uh, kinda becoming a problem."

"How so?" Maddie frowned.

"A girl at school's dad lost his job because of him. I tried to stop him, but I just made things worse. Now they've lost their house too, and a lot of their possessions."

"Oh hon..." Maddie looked like she wanted to hug him, but held back for fear of being rejected. Danny was grateful.

He walked over to the portal, which was always open nowadays to allow Danny easy access to the living world, and tossed Cujo inside. The dog went easily, happily yapping as he crossed the threshold. "Sam and Tucker say I'm taking too much responsibility, and that I shouldn't blame myself for not being able to stop him."

Maddie nodded. "They're right."

Danny grinned over his shoulder. "Yeah, I know. Clockwork would say the same thing."

Maddie looked down, fiddled with a scrap of metal on her work table. "I don't mean to change the subject, but who exactly is Clockwork? You've mentioned him before."

Danny stared at the swirling green of the portal. "Yeah, I suppose it is time I told you about him." He sighed. "Let's go sit down."

* * *

Valerie couldn't believe her friends would ostracize her over something like her dad losing his job. She hadn't been expecting it of them, it just seemed so shallow. Maybe that Manson girl was right.

What she really couldn't believe, though, was that Foley was still following her around.

"Uh, hey Valerie!" He stood on the other side of the nearly empty lunch table, practically hovering over her.

Valerie dropped her chin on her hand. "What do you want now?"

"I was, ah, wondering if you wanted to join me, I mean, us, for lunch." God, Foley was practically sweating buckets.

"No thank you," Valerie gritted out. "I don't need to go flaunting my new social status. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to enjoy my bag lunch in peace."

Foley made a face, but walked back to his own table, where Manson sat waiting. They started chatting, and Valerie instantly regretted passing up the opportunity. It would be nice to sit with someone, even if they didn't necessarily get along.

Valerie sighed and turned back to her lunch. She wasn't ready to try making new friends anyway.

Suddenly a shadow fell over her. Valerie rolled her eyes, expecting to see Foley hovering over her again. She turned, saying, "I told you already, I don't-"

The dog was staring at her through the window.

* * *

Danny had decided to go back to Casper High during the lunch hour. He didn't have anything better to do, besides whatever Clockwork might have him do, and he wasn't ready to go back to the Ghost Zone.

Danny had just reached the school when people began streaming from the cafeteria. He sighed, and headed towards the chaos.

There he found Cujo, once again terrorizing Valerie, who was, again, screaming.

Danny found Sam and Tucker. "How long has he been here?"

Tucker jumped.

Sam glared. "You're not much of a dog catcher, are you?"

"Guess not." Danny shrugged.

"He's only been here a few minutes, man. He seems to have a target on Valerie, though."

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "I can see that." He patted Tucker on the shoulder and flew towards the fight, if you could call it that. Really, it was just Valerie hiding behind an overturned table and Cujo trying to dig through to her.

"Cujo!" Danny whistled. "Here boy!"

Surprisingly, Cujo instantly turned around and shrank. The puppy yapped and jumped onto Danny's chest. Danny wrapped his arms around Cujo and flew out the window, turning invisible as he went.

Once outside, Danny turned to look back in. He saw Valerie, huddled in her hiding place, trembling. Danny watched as Tucker crept over, sitting beside her. He said something to her, and Valerie seemed shocked. Her eyes narrowed and she began to interrogate him.

Danny had no clue what Tucker had said to her, but he didn't envy his friend for the reaction.

* * *

Valerie wiped angry tears from her cheeks as Foley sat beside her. She rolled her eyes and looked away.

Foley laughed awkwardly. "Ghosts, huh? What're you gonna do? I doubt even the Fentons could keep that one under control."

Valerie was silent for a moment as his words caught up to her. "What do you mean, the Fentons?"

Foley shifted. "Uh, y'know, Danny and Jazz's parents? They're, uh, professional ghost hunters."

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "How can I get in contact with them?"

"With Jazz, or uh, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?"

Valerie shrugged. "Or Danny, I don't care."

Foley winced. "No, uh, not Danny." He didn't explain why. "Look, if you wait on the front steps after school I can walk you to FentonWorks? I'm sure they'll be fine with it."

Foley seemed far too nervous for it to be 'fine', but Valerie figured that was his problem. "Sounds great." Valerie grabbed her bag and headed to class, leaving him behind.

Valerie's last classes passed by in a blur. She had no clue what they'd covered or what the homework was about, but she could deal with that later. Right now, ghosts took priority.

She met Foley after the bell rang. He had been waiting on the front stairs while she collected her books. Manson was there too, and she didn't look happy.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Tucker? What if __he's__ at the house? What're you gonna do then?"

"That's why I texted Jazz earlier. She's going to make sure that everything is set before we even get there."

"Before __you__ get there, you mean. I'm going book shopping."

"Oh," Foley seemed to deflate. "Okay."

Manson left, shooting Valerie a dark look as they passed each other. Valerie tossed her hair and approached Foley.

"You ready to go?" He smiled.

"Absolutely. I'm ready to meet the Fentons."

Foley seemed amused. "No, you're really not, but let's go."

Valerie was almost annoyed that he would assume she wasn't prepared for anything, but Foley started walking down the street before she could say anything. She shook her head, let it go, and followed. They walked in silence. Valerie was beginning to get uncomfortable by the time they reached the third intersection, which she noticed Foley seemed nervous to cross. But then they turned into a neighborhood of brick houses, and she noticed the closest building. It was absolutely insane.

The building was red brick like the rest of the block, but as if three floors wasn't enough, it also boasted a large, metal contraption on the roof that was twice the size of the building itself. From the front of the home stretched a giant neon sign reading 'FentonWorks' with an arrow pointing to the door.

Valerie hadn't realized she had stopped walking until she heard Foley laughing at her. She glared at him and he shut up. Valerie scanned the building once more, psyching herself up for what was sure to be an incredibly strange and draining interaction. Then she left Foley's side and climbed the stairs.

* * *

Valerie lay facedown on the ratty couch in her new apartment. She couldn't believe Mrs. Fenton had just pushed her aside like that! She hadn't even listened to Valerie when she tried to explain the situation. Mrs. Fenton had just pursed her lips and said that the ghosts in question were already being investigated. Then Valerie had been shooed out the door.

"Sweetie? Are you okay?"

Valerie groaned into the coarse fabric.

"Can I help? Is it cramps?"

Valerie pushed herself up with a sigh. "No, Daddy, just that dumb ghost dog."

"Oh baby, don't worry about that. Someone will catch it eventually. And I've been given a second chance at Axion!"

Valerie felt her spirits lift. "That's great! How many of your employees can you put on it?"

Damon hesitated. "None. It's just me. I have to guard it myself, alone, at night." He pointed to a blue work suit hanging from the closet door. "In that."

Valerie glanced at the suit. "Nice. And if things get worse, you can use that outfit to deliver packages."

"Which reminds me!" Damon seemed grateful for the change in subject. "This arrived while you were at school today. From Wisconsin?" His watch beeped as he passed Valerie a large box. "Oh, don't want to be late! Bye sweetie!" Damon kissed Valerie on the cheek, snatched his suit, and dashed out the door.

Valerie stared at the box. It had her name, but she didn't recognize the return address. She tore off the tape and opened the package. A letter sat on top of the contents.

__Heard about your recent ghost troubles. Hope this helps. - Vlad__

Valerie tipped her head. She didn't know anyone named Vlad, and she had no clue how a stranger would know about the ghosts following her. Her eye caught a metallic glint in the box, and Valerie decided that she couldn't pass up such a gift, no matter who it came from. "I don't know who you are, Vlad, but if this thing does what I think it does, I don't think I care."

* * *

**So, Valerie knows Danny's dead, but she didn't make the connection between him and Danny Fenton, just in case anyone was wondering.**

**To LdR: Thank you! I actually have 309 chapters planned, as long as I stick to my outline. Yes, Valerie will find out that she's been hunting Danny, but not for a while yet. Thanks again, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**


	24. Mimosa

**Danny meets Sidney Poindexter. **

* * *

Danny was bored again.

Clockwork had sent him back to Casper High - something about a potential ally. So he had followed Jazz to school, as he had already memorized Sam and Tucker's schedules, and sat in on her first few classes. But Jazz was taking all AP classes, and Danny quickly lost track of what was going on. Finally, after spending lunch with his sister and friends, Danny resorted to exploring. He'd thought he'd been all over the school back when he was alive, but Danny was sure he could find _something_ new. Maybe he'd just sneak into the teacher's lounge.

As Danny was passing by the freshman lockers, he felt a tingle up his spine. His vision suddenly shifted to shades of green, like night vision goggles. Danny stopped.  
He hadn't experienced this before, but he thought he recognized what it might be. Danny had read a book in Clockwork's tower, that had explained that some ghosts had the ability to sense each other. He wondered if maybe he was one of them. Danny hovered in the hallway, trying to get used to his new eyesight. He didn't know how to turn it off, but he could figure that out later.

One of the lockers was glowing. Danny hovered closer. Cautiously, he stuck his hand inside the locker and unlocked it. The door swung open. The locker was empty, except for a wide, silver mirror. The mirror glowed softly, and Danny could see his reflection despite being invisible.

Beyond curious now, Danny reached out to touch the mirror. The second his fingers made contact, the world shifted again. This time, everything was painted in a grayscale.

Danny stepped back and looked around. The hallways had suddenly filled, but Danny was sure he hadn't heard the bell ring. No one seemed to notice him, so he assumed he was still invisible.

At first, Danny assumed the change in vision was just another power manifesting. He wandered the halls of the school, listening in to snippets of conversations. But after a while, he realized that, of all the students and staff surrounding him, he recognized none of them. Danny stopped in the middle of the hallway, staring around at the other occupants.

They were starting to gather in a way that he found uncomfortably familiar. The students called out jeers and encouragement. Danny hovered over the crowd, edging closer to the center of the commotion. In the middle of the circle stood three boys, two large and muscular, the other small and fragile-looking.

Danny sighed. Of course it was bullies. He watched as the larger boys shoved the smaller one back and forth, knocking books out of his hands and kicking them away. Eventually, the crowd trickled away and the boys seemed to get bored with their prey. They pushed the boy to the floor and stalked away, laughing and chatting as if nothing had happened.

Of course, no adults had bothered to investigate the noise. Danny was thoroughly unimpressed with the staff of Casper High.

He floated down towards the floor, watching the boy pick up his scattered and battered books and papers. He looked near tears, but also incredibly exhausted, so Danny took a risk and gently brushed one of the farther papers a little closer.

The boy looked up. He blinked. Suddenly, Danny realized nervously, he looked absolutely furious.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" He roared.

Danny glanced down at his hand, still touching the paper. Unlike the rest of the world, his skin was still pale green. He looked up at the hallway. The school was still black and white. The change in color had only occurred to his surroundings. Danny glanced at the boy. His eyes were glowing white. Danny sighed. It seemed he'd wandered into a ghost's lair. No wonder the other students hadn't reacted to him.

Though, Danny had to wonder why a ghost's lair would form as a school where he was bullied. It didn't seem very relaxing.

"Who are you?!" The boy screamed again.

Danny held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, man, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to trespass. I didn't even know I _was_ trespassing."

The glow began to spread from the ghost's eyes to the rest of his body. He began to hover just off the floor.

"Uh, hey," Danny stuttered. He desperately wanted to avoid a fight. He still didn't understand his powers. "If you just point me in the right direction, I'll leave, like, right now. Just tell me how and I'll go."

The boy blinked. The glow began to recede. "Really?"

"Yeah, of course!" Danny nodded almost too enthusiastically. "I didn't mean to come here in the first place, it was an accident, I don't know how I did it. What's your name, anyway?"

The boy seemed too shocked to answer. "You... You want to know _my_ name?"

"Yeah, sure." Danny shrugged. "If I know your name, I'm more likely to remember not to trespass."

"I'm Sidney." The boy said nervously. "Sidney Poindexter. This is my lair."

"Yeah, I got that. Nice to meet you Sidney, I'm Danny."

"You as well." Sidney sounded far too hesitant for the greeting to be genuine. "I think I know how you got in. There's a portal, in a mirror in my locker. You probably fell through."

"Oh, the mirror!" Danny threw his hands up, pretending to ignore how Sidney flinched. "That makes so much sense, actually! Can I get back the same way? It would save a lot of time if I didn't have to find my way out of the Ghost Zone."

"Out of the Ghost Zone? What do you mean? There's no way out, I've searched."

"Uh, yeah," Danny said hesitantly. He wasn't sure if Sidney meant harm to the living world. Danny really wanted to be friends with this ghost, he didn't want to fight, but he would if he had to. "There's a permanent portal now. It opened a few months ago."

"You mean..." Sidney's eyes grew wide, glinting behind his large glasses. "I can leave? I don't have to stay in this hellworld anymore?"

"You can leave," Danny frowned. "As long as you stay peaceful with the humans. There's too many causing chaos out there already."

Sidney scoffed. "I would never become a bully like that, harassing people. I just want to get out of here."

Danny thought in silence for a moment. "Come with me, then."

"What?" Sidney stared at him.

"Come with me, through the mirror. It's the fastest way, and I don't remember where it is anyway. You can show me." Danny grinned, trying to seem as friendly as possible. He did his best to ignore his fangs poking at his lips.

Sidney didn't seem to care about them. "You'd spend time with me?"

"Sure, man! I haven't met any other ghosts my age. Er, apparent age, anyway. I'd love to hang out with you!"

Sidney watched him for a long moment. Finally, he stuck his hand out to shake. "I think I like you, Danny. Let's go find that mirror."

* * *

**This chapter just did not want to cooperate.**


End file.
